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Employment Tribunals – a system at breaking point?
June 2, 2026
By Fflur Jones
The Employment Tribunal system in England and Wales is already under unprecedented strain, and incoming employment law reforms will likely only exacerbate the situation.
Our employment law Partner Fflur Jones explores the current climate of employment law claims and what the system backlog could mean for Welsh speakers.
Latest tribunal statistics show that employment tribunals across the country are facing a backlog of more than half a million claims. It is clear therefore that the Employment Tribunals are receiving far more new claims than they can speedily resolve.
As a result, waiting times for cases to be heard and dealt with have increased significantly in recent years, with some cases now being listed into 2027 / 2028 and beyond as a result of lack of judicial capacity and administrative support. This causes issues as both claimants and respondents are left with a great deal of uncertainty, which can last years, and during which time evidence may be lost, witnesses will be harder to contact, and memories fade.
On 18 December 2025, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (‘the Act’) received Royal Assent, heralding a new era for employment law rights across the land. Throughout 2026 and 2027, a raft of new rights for employees shall be introduced by the new Act. Indeed, it has been confirmed by Cambridge University researchers that this flagship Act should bring British employment protections closer to those of comparative countries closer to those of comparative countries.
However, at the same time as employment law protections are being strengthened, the Employment Tribunal system is already struggling to cope with existing levels of cases. The Act introduces provisions such as reducing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from two years to six months, and it also lifts the compensation cap on such claims. More and more workers will therefore likely be encouraged to pursue claims to the Employment Tribunal.
The UK Government’s own figures estimate that an additional 6 million individuals will gain the right to bring unfair dismissal claims once the qualifying period to do so is reduced to 6 months’ service in January 2027. As a result, case volumes at the Employment Tribunal could rise by around 15-17%. There is a significant risk therefore that this may translate to further delays for claimants’ cases to be heard – and also in Respondents being able to move on from any claims brought against them.
This combination of the existing strain on the ET system, and the anticipated further increases in the number of claims that will be brought by employees therefore raises grave concerns about both Claimants and Respondents’ access to justice and the principle that cases should be heard without undue delay.
As employment lawyers, we can only hope that the UK Government will soon match its principled approach to employment law rights as seen in the Act with adequate funding and investment being made in our currently overworked Employment Tribunal system, and with the recruitment of an adequate number of judges, and administrative support being made a top priority.
In the meantime, it is important that employers make sure that their policies and procedures are compliant with the new requirements of the Act, in order to avoid claims arising in the first place. Both employers and employees should also keep a detailed note of incidents and disputes as they arise, in case they face a long wait before their cases are finally heard by an Employment Tribunal.
An often-over-looked aspect of access to justice is the ease of the ability of Welsh speaking employees or employers to pursue or defend claims through the medium of Welsh. Section 22(1) of the Welsh Language Act 1993 gives the right for any “party, witness or person” who desires to use Welsh in legal proceedings in Wales to use it. Therefore, Welsh is an official language in Wales and should be treated no less favourably than English. In Wales, responsibility for the Welsh language has been devolved to Welsh Government; however, the Employment Tribunal system is part of a reserved justice system run by the UK Government.
Whilst the Employment Tribunal has mechanisms to support bilingual proceedings, in our experience the decision to have a case heard or conducted in Welsh, or for evidence to be given in that language can cause even further delays to proceedings.
Whilst two Welsh speaking Judges were recruited to the Wales Employment Tribunal circuit in 2024, and another recruitment round is about to begin for a salaried Welsh speaking Judge in north Wales, achieving a situation where there is a translator, Judge, and if necessary, panel, present who can ensure the passage of a case or a part of it in Welsh often proves difficult and / or time consuming.
The UK Government’s analysis is that the impact of the Act on employees in Wales will be disproportionately high in terms of its benefits compared to other parts of the UK, due to being a region with higher employment in low-paying sectors. However, despite the UK Government routinely releasing quarterly data on the volume and types of ET claims issued etc., obtaining official data specifically tracking the number of claims which are actually conducted in the Welsh language is not regularly highlighted in these quarterly tribunal reports, which focus instead on venue, claim type, and overall regional caseloads. The Ministry of Justice’s 2023-24 Annual Monitoring Report to the Welsh Language Commissioner noted that 332 cases had been recorded as being done in Welsh across HMCTS courts and tribunals, but that number is likely to rise in the future, due in part to the increased demand to use Welsh within the public sector in Wales.
It is definitely our current experience that when acting for Welsh speakers their additional demands can slow down the ET process even further, with translators not always booked ahead of hearings, or the lack of availability of a Welsh speaking Judge or panel causing delay. It would therefore be hugely welcomed if the Employment Tribunal quarterly statistics started analysing the use of Welsh within it, and also the timescales of cases conducted in Welsh compared to those conducted in English. Without such analysis the extent of the problem (or perception of a problem) is hard to gauge, but its absence only contributes to a feeling amongst Welsh speakers that Welsh is far from being treated equally to English within the current system.
For support or advice on anything mentioned above or another employment law matter, get in touch with one of our experts, using the contact form, hello@darwingray.com, or 02920 829 100 to see how we can support you or your business.
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